Peter T. O'Brien. God Has Spoken in His Son: A Biblical Theology of Hebrews. Apollos/InterVarsity Press, 2016.
"Hebrews is one of the most attractive and powerful yet challenging books of the New Testament. It begins with a magnificent presentation of Jesus as the divine Son through whom God has spoken his final word (Heb. 1:1-4). These opening lines set the trajectory for the whole discourse.
The polished literary character of Hebrews and its careful exposition of the superiority of Christ, the Son of God and great high priest led earlier generations to conclude that it was mainly or simply a theological treatise. However, particularly in the last three decades, its purpose has been understood as hortatory; this is made clear by the exhortatory passages that flow from, and are grounded in, the expositions that appear throughout the discourse.
Peter O'Brien's excellent, cohesive exposition of Hebrews examines the major interlocking themes highlighted by the author as he addresses his 'word of exhortation' (13:22) to the congregation. These themes include God speaking, Christology, salvation, the people of God, and warnings and encouragements.
In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, O'Brien shows how Hebrews employs profoundly rich theology to serve the didactic, hortatory and pastoral goals of urging the hearers to endure in their pursuit of the promised reward, in obedience to the word of God and especially on the basis of their new covenant relationship with the Son.
Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead."
Interesting. I thought they were discontinuing this.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't know what to tell you. I have a copy of the book in hand.
ReplyDeleteI've mixed feelings whether to read this. On the one hand I do, but on the other hand I recall the academic issue he went through concerning his Hebrews Pillar commentary last year (July/August 2016). I would at least still be interested in reading it in a library.
ReplyDeleteI understand. His Hebrews commentary and two of his other commentaries were pulled by Eerdmans. I've not gotten rid of his Hebrews commentary. I think the information in it is still good, but because of the plagiarism issues, I would no longer cite it for academic research. I can't speak to whether or not this biblical theology has the same issues, as I have not read it yet.
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